How Do I Convey Confidence?

Some of the brightest, most honest, diligent, hard-working individuals will continually be overlooked for promotion in part because they do not convey confidence. How do we convey confidence? In the following ways:

1. Believe in yourself.
2. Dress for success. Be neat and professional. Pay attention to the details – polished shoes, hair and nails.
3. Prepare adequately for meetings and presentations. KNOW that you have done all the prep work you needed to.
4. Have a firm, not crushing, handshake.
5. Make eye contact. When you are speaking to someone, look them directly in the eye.
6. Pay attention to your body language. Stand up tall. Minimize distracting shifts from leg to leg and don’t sway back and forth. Sit on the front part of the chair to ensure you are sitting straight. Do not fiddle with items in your pocket, your jewelry or watch.
7. Pay attention to your voice. Project your voice and find your pace and rhythm when you are speaking. Use pauses for dramatic effect. Speak slowly and enunciate clearly. Watch out for “ums” and “uhs”, as well as “like”. Doing this indicates you are nervous.
8. Do not pose a statement as a question.
9. Do not use disclaimers to introduce your ideas; doing this completely undermines your perceived confidence and makes you sound unsure.
10. Do not use inappropriate words, such as expletives. Also be aware of your use of colloquialisms.